WE’RE SO GRATEFUL FOR YOU. OH, YEAH. NO, WE ARE. WE ARE EVEN BEING IN THIS MOMENT. IT JUST FEELS LIKE VERY FULL CIRCLE. JUST FOUR MONTHS OLD AND LITTLE ASANTE HAS ALREADY HAD TWO SURGERIES BEFORE. BEFORE HE WAS EVEN BORN, IT WAS DURING HER 20 WEEK ULTRASOUND APPOINTMENT THAT SAGAWA’S PREGNANCY TOOK A SUDDEN TURN. I REMEMBER HE SAID THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE BABY. ASANTE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A DIAPHRAGMATIC HERNIA THAT, LEFT UNTREATED, WOULD MEAN HIS LUNGS WOULD BE UNABLE TO FUNCTION. I REMEMBER I WAS LIKE, I’LL DO ANYTHING TO SAVE HIM. LIKE ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING. SO THE GREENBELT MOM CAME HERE TO THE JOHNS HOPKINS CENTER FOR FETAL THERAPY AND INTO THE HANDS OF DIRECTOR DOCTOR AMIT BIGSHOT AND HIS TEAM WERE AT 28 WEEKS IN UTERO. THEY INSERTED A BALLOON TO INFLATE HIS LUNGS AND TOOK IT OUT NOT LONG BEFORE HE WAS BORN. SO WHEN ASANTE CAME OUT, HE ACTUALLY DID VERY WELL. HE HAD A REALLY VERY NICE COURSE IN THE NICU, AND WE WERE VERY HAPPY AND WE WERE VERY HAPPY. HOW HE’S DOING TODAY. THE FETAL THERAPY CENTER IS TURNING TEN YEARS OLD THIS YEAR, AND OVER THE PAST DECADE THEY HAVE PERFORMED MORE THAN 2000 INTERVENTIONS, LIFE SAVING, INNOVATIVE PROCEDURES FROM AS EARLY AS 16 WEEKS IN UTERO. IT GOES FROM ULTRASOUND GUIDED PROCEDURE FOR FETAL TRANSFUSIONS, PUTTING IN PLASTIC SHUNTS TO RELIEVE BLOCKAGES AND ACTUALLY DOING INTRAUTERINE SURGERIES AS WELL, EITHER MINIMALLY INVASIVE WITH A CAMERA OR SOMETIMES EVEN OPENING UP THE UTERUS AND BRINGING THE BABY TO THE SURFACE. DOING THE SURGERY AND THEN CLOSING THE UTERUS. ASANTE STILL NEEDS OXYGEN AND SPECIALIZED CARE, BUT IS DOING VERY WELL. AND NEXT MONTH, A FAMILY INCLUDING HIS BIG SISTER, WILL JOIN HUNDREDS OF OTHER FAMILIES WHO HAVE RECEIVED CARE HERE. THEY’LL BE AT THE MARYLAND ZOO FOR A SPECIAL REUNION WITH THE TEAM THAT’S MADE THIS MOMENT, AND EVERYONE THAT FOLLOWS POSSIBLE. FOR US. THAT’S A REALLY EXCITING TIME BECAUSE WE SEE THE PARENTS WHEN THE STRESS IS OVER AND WE RECONNECT WITH OUR FAMILIES, AND THAT IS HIGHLY REWARDING FOR THE WHOLE CENTER TEAM. I’M LETTING THE WORLD KNOW. SO WE MADE IT AND WE DIDN’T KNOW IF WE WERE
Mother recounts how Johns Hopkins Center for Fetal Therapy saved her son before he was born
Updated: 6:02 PM EDT May 9, 2024
The Johns Hopkins Center for Fetal Therapy a decade ago in Baltimore, and since that time, doctors have performed groundbreaking lifesaving procedures on babies before they're even born.Songo Wawa's son, Asante, had already underwent two surgeries before he was even born. It was during her 20-week ultrasound appointment that Wawa's pregnancy took a sudden turn."I remember, (the doctor) said 'There's something wrong with the baby.'" Wawa said.Asante was diagnosed with a diaphragmatic hernia, that if left untreated, would mean his lungs would be unable to function."I remember, I was like, 'I will do anything to save him, absolutely anything,'" she said.So, the Greenbelt mom went to the Johns Hopkins Center for Fetal Therapy, and into the hands of its director, Dr. Ahmet Baschat. At 28 weeks in-utero, Baschat and his team inserted a balloon to inflate Asante's lungs and took it out not long before he was born."So, when Asante came out, he actually did very well," Baschat said. "(He) had a really very nice course in the NICU. We were very happy, and we are very happy with how he's doing today."The Center for Fetal Therapy turns 10 this year, and over the past decade, its crews have performed more than 2,000 interventions and lifesaving, innovative procedures for babies from as early as 16 weeks in utero."It goes from ultrasound, guided procedures, to transfusions to putting in plastic shunts to relieve blockages and actually doing in-utero surgery, either with a minimally invasive camera or sometimes even opening up the uterus to bring the baby up to the surface, doing the surgery and then closing the uterus," Baschat said.Now 4 months old, Asante still needs oxygen and specialized care but is doing very well. In June, the family, including big sister, Amani, will join hundreds of other families who have received care at the Center for Fetal Therapy for a reunion celebration at The Maryland Zoo with the team that has made this moment and everyone that follows possible."For us, that's a really exciting time because we see the parents when the stress is over, and we connect with our families and that's highly rewarding for the whole center team," Baschat said."We're so grateful for you. No, we are. Even being in this moment, It feels very full circle," Wawa said. "I'm letting the world know. We made it, and we didn't know if we (would)."
BALTIMORE — The Johns Hopkins Center for Fetal Therapy a decade ago in Baltimore, and since that time, doctors have performed groundbreaking lifesaving procedures on babies before they're even born.
Songo Wawa's son, Asante, had already underwent two surgeries before he was even born. It was during her 20-week ultrasound appointment that Wawa's pregnancy took a sudden turn.
"I remember, (the doctor) said 'There's something wrong with the baby.'" Wawa said.
Asante was diagnosed with a diaphragmatic hernia, that if left untreated, would mean his lungs would be unable to function.
"I remember, I was like, 'I will do anything to save him, absolutely anything,'" she said.
So, the Greenbelt mom went to the Johns Hopkins Center for Fetal Therapy, and into the hands of its director, Dr. Ahmet Baschat. At 28 weeks in-utero, Baschat and his team inserted a balloon to inflate Asante's lungs and took it out not long before he was born.
"So, when Asante came out, he actually did very well," Baschat said. "(He) had a really very nice course in the NICU. We were very happy, and we are very happy with how he's doing today."
The Center for Fetal Therapy turns 10 this year, and over the past decade, its crews have performed more than 2,000 interventions and lifesaving, innovative procedures for babies from as early as 16 weeks in utero.
"It goes from ultrasound, guided procedures, to transfusions to putting in plastic shunts to relieve blockages and actually doing in-utero surgery, either with a minimally invasive camera or sometimes even opening up the uterus to bring the baby up to the surface, doing the surgery and then closing the uterus," Baschat said.
Now 4 months old, Asante still needs oxygen and specialized care but is doing very well. In June, the family, including big sister, Amani, will join hundreds of other families who have received care at the Center for Fetal Therapy for a reunion celebration at The Maryland Zoo with the team that has made this moment and everyone that follows possible.
"For us, that's a really exciting time because we see the parents when the stress is over, and we connect with our families and that's highly rewarding for the whole center team," Baschat said.
"We're so grateful for you. No, we are. Even being in this moment, It feels very full circle," Wawa said. "I'm letting the world know. We made it, and we didn't know if we (would)."
